Hi
I was talking with someone recently about family history and possibly having romany links, we both have stories in our families, so I thought I would post them here to see if you have an idea where we can begin to look.
It was the last post about gyspy royalty that made me think because the lady I was talking to has a story that they are descended from Spanish Gypsy Royalty on her father's side but she doesn't know which specific family, the surnames aren't particularly unusual.... Snell, Luff, Huntley, Nash, Winter, Facknell and Chamberlain.... Two elderly cousins have separately told her this story but I'm not sure where to start to suggest where we can find out any answers.
My story is my Grt Grandfather Harry Winney apparently 'did the dirty by a gypsy girl and abandoned her' which is why he moved from West Bromwich where he was born in 1880 to Walthamstow (in 1901 census) where he met (but did not marry) my grt grandmother and had my Gran in 1903 and her sister a few years later. Only after my Gran died did I discover that he was already married to an Agnes Troth in 1899 and had a daughter Dorothy in 1900, who he abandoned when he moved south (he did the same again to my Gran and her sister a few years later when he emigrated to Canada). I have been unable to trace what happened to either Dorothy or her mother. I was wondering if Troth is a romany name... and could this be where the story came from?
Thank you
Vicky